The Gloucester County Institute of Technology (GCIT) is a four-year vocational-technical public high school located in Deptford Township, in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Gloucester County Vocational-Technical School District. The school has a Sewell mailing address.
GCIT offers nine full-time programs. Students must apply and be selected to attend GCIT. GCIT currently accepts approximately 350 students per year. Acceptance is based on final marking period grades from 7th grade and the beginning marking period grades for 8th grade, as well as state standardized test scores, attendance and a mandatory shadow visit.
As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,317 students and 91.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentâ€"teacher ratio of 14.4:1. There were 132 students (10.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 43 (3.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
Awards, recognition and rankings
Schooldigger.com ranked GCIT the 85th out of 396 public high schools statewide in its 2012 rankings (an increase of 31 positions from the 2011 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (89.3%) and language arts literacy (99.3%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).
Programs
Programs offered at GCIT include:
- Academy of Allied Health and Medical Science
- Academy of Finance and Business Management
- Academy of Information Technology and Digital Communications
- Academy of Engineering
- School of Performing Arts (Dance and Drama)
- School of Culinary Arts
- School of Transportation Technology
- School of Construction Technology
- School of Cosmetology
Specialized programs
Shared-time Law Enforcement
Shared-time Emergency Response/Fire Service
Youth Education Career Center
Adult programs
Adult High School
Air Conditioning & Refrigeration/EPA Certification
Automotive Technology
Baking & Pastry Arts
Collision Technology
Cosmetology
Culinary Arts
Electrical Theory
Marine Engine Maintenance
Plumbing
Rough Framing
Welding
Academics
GCIT offers Honors classes for all students, and mandated them for all Academy students. All Career-Technical students have the option to take College Prep (CP) courses or Honors.
GCIT offers many world-language courses. Currently, GCIT offers courses in Spanish, Latin and Italian. Two years of a language are required to graduate, but four levels are offered with an independent study option available.
GCIT offers several electives and students can also choose from Rowan College at Gloucester County courses instead of taking high school electives to receive dual credit. The tuition for these courses is paid for by the district, but students are responsible for books.
GCIT also offers extracurricular clubs like in most high schools from French club to robotics club. Club list: GCIT Clubs
GCIT follows the National Academy Foundation's cooperative learning initiative, where teachers focus on group discussions, projects, and research papers.
APA research paper
All students in College Prep (CP) and Honors classes at GCIT must complete an APA research paper (although teachers may vary the format at their discretion). To assist students, GCIT staff members provide a free APA manual that students can download. This manual is available on GCIT's website or by the following link. GCIT's APA Manual (2004)
Athletics
The GCIT Cheetahs compete as a member school in the Tri-County Conference, which is composed of schools grades 9-12 and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,003 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as South Jersey, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 794 to 1,076 students in that grade range. The Cheetahs is the name of all GCIT's sporting teams.
GCIT's varsity softball team successfully defended the NJTAC state tournament title in 2007 by defeating Sussex County Technical School, 22-1. In addition, GCIT's boys' soccer team has made the New Jersey state playoffs for two consecutive years.
GCIT's boys' baseball team has had back-to-back state championships.
GCIT is the only high school on the East Coast that has an Olympic-sized swimming pool. GCIT also has a fitness room with equipment including free weights and treadmills. GCIT currently allows the public to pay a membership fee and use the pool and fitness rooms at set times, while students gain free, unlimited access.
GCIT currently offers many sports but does not offer football, which is common in vocational schools. Currently, students who want to play football or a sport GCIT does not offer are permitted to play on their home district's team.
Community involvement and services
GCIT is heavily involved in the community and provides services to the public.
Community
GCIT offers several services to the public. For example, the School of Cosmetology offers salon services, the School of Culinary Arts offers a catering menu and takes orders for the bakery. The School of Transportation offers services for Live Work. The Fitness Center and Pool is open for the Gloucester County residents/members.
GCIT is also involved in many community projects. GCIT participates in the City of Hope Walk, Style-A-Thon, Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk, Love Our Vets, etc. In addition, the HOSA club does an annual blood drive for the American Red Cross.
School Based Youth Services
School Based Youth Services (SBYS) offers free counseling for teenagers between the ages of 13-19 who lives in Gloucester County. They also provide counseling for their family members. SBYS is open from 8 AM to 8 PM on Mondays to Thursdays and 8 AM to 3 PM on Fridays.
SBYS is trained to counsel over a wide variety of topics such as drugs, stress, depression, sexual orrientation, family problems, and more. SBYS also organizes recreational activities for the students of GCIT.
Youth One Stop GED Program
The Youth One Stop GED Program provides GED test preparation to out-of-school teens in Gloucester County. They work with teens between the ages of 16-21. They also allow students to go on recreational trips, community services, etc. The One Stop Youth Center is open from 8 AM to 4 PM Mondays to Thursdays. The One Stop Youth Center provides a monetary reward each week for meeting their educational and attendance objectives.
School newspaper
GCIT runs an online school newspaper. The title of the newspaper is Cheetah News.
References
External links
- GCIT's Official Website
- GCIT Aquatics and Fitness Center, retrieved June 3, 2007Â
- Gloucester County Districts, retrieved June 3, 2007Â
- Greatschools: GCIT, retrieved August 20, 2010Â